The Class AA Boys closed the opening session. After escaping the rain for the first race of the day, a steady drizzle started during this race. Winfield was expected to walk away with the team title, and they did just that, though it was much closer than expected. I'll attribute much of that to the return of a Frankfort runner that I wasn't aware would be running. Regardless, both teams ran well and it made for an exciting finish with Winfield taking the win by just 4 points. The 3-4 battle was close as well with Oak Glen upending East Fairmont by 5 points. Individually, Matthew Scheneberg was expected to take the win, and he led for most of the race, but it was Sophomore teammate Brayden Marshall who made the late pass and took the win, followed closely by fellow Sophomore Jacob Dowdy just 1.3 seconds behind. Scheneberg, who was reportedly ill for much of the week settled for a hard-fought 3rd.

At the gun, it was Winfield's Matthew Scheneberg rocketing to the front. That would hold through the first checkpoint at the top of the hill at about 0.7 miles. Scheneberg led the field through in a quick early pace at 3:39. Winfield's Brayden Marshall was in 2nd at 3:46. Shady Spring's Jacob Dowdy was in the front of the trail pack at 3:49 in 3rd. He was followed by Frankfort's Garrett Ferguson in 4th at 3:50. He was trailed closely by Poca's Landon Brumfield and Winfield's Justin Lipscomb in 5th and 6th, respectively at 3:51. Frankfort's Steven Kent Niland and Elkins' Charlie Smoak were in 7th and 8th, respectively at 3:53. Fairmont Senior's Jasper Brown was out well in 9th at 3:54. Oak Glen's Konnor Allison was running 10th in 3:55. Wayne's Chace Thompson was in 11th at 3:57 with East Fairmont's Drew Moore matching that time in 12th. Shady Spring's Jaedan Holstein was in 13th at 4:00 with Elkins' Lucas Anger matching that time in 14th. Frankfort's Peyton Slider was in 15th at 4:01. Lewis' Slate Swiger and Winfield's Tyler Weiford were in 16th and 17th, respectively at 4:02 with Frankfort's Luke Duncan in 18th at 4:03. Wayne's Chance Thompson was in 19th at 4:04, and Oak Glen's Mason Konchar was holding the 20th spot at 4:07.

At the mile mark, Matthew Scheneberg had stretched his lead a bit, coming through in 5:08. Brayden Marshall remained in 2nd at 5:17. Jacob Dowdy was 3rd at 5:20 with Charlie Smoak moving up to 4th in 5:21. Garrett Ferguson was in 5th at 5:22 with Landon Brumfield matching that time in 6th. Konnor Allison, Steven Kent Niland, and Justin Lipscomb held 7th through 9th positions at 5:25. Jasper Brown was in 10th at 5:26. Jaedan Holstein was up to 11th in 5:32. Drew Moore and Lucas Anger held the 12th and 13th spots at 5:33 each. Peyton Slider was up to 14th in 5:34 with Tyler Weiford matching that in 15th. Mason Konchar was up to 16th in 5:35. Luke Duncan was up to 17th at 5:36. Chace Thompson was in 18th at 5:37. Slate Swiger was holding 19th at 5:43 with that time matched by Chance Thompson in 20th.

At the Extension Service Building at about 1.4 miles, which is the highest point on the course, Matthew Scheneberg remained in the front at 7:33. Brayden Marshall remained in 2nd at 7:41. Jacob Dowdy had taken complete control of the 3rd spot in 7:45. Charlie Smoak remained in 4th at 7:49 with Garrett Ferguson right behind him in 5th at 7:50. Landon Brumfield was in 6th close behind in 7:51. Steven Kent Niland was in 7th at 7:54 with Konnor Allison matching that time in 8th. Jasper Brown was in 9th at 7:59 with Justin Lipscomb in 10th at 8:00. Peyton Slider had continued to move up and was in 11th at 8:04. Mason Konchar was joining him in the upward climb, up to 12th in 8:05. Jaedan Holsten was in 13th at 8:06. Drew Moore was in 14th at 8:07. Lucas Anger was in 15th at 8:08. Tyler Weiford was in 16th at 8:40. Luke Duncan remained in 17th at 8:42. Chace Thompson remained in 18th at 8:50. Keyser's Trenton Denne had moved into 19th at 8:51 with Chance Thompson in 20th at 8:52.

At my bonus spot at about 1.85 miles, Scheneberg remained in control at 9:53. Brayden Marshall was still solidly in 2nd at 10:02 with Jacob Dowdy solidly in 3rd at 10:06. Charlie Smoak remained in 4th at 10:12 now establishing a small gap over Garrett Ferguson in 5th at 10:14 and Landon Brumfield in 6th at 10:15. Konnor Allison, Steven Kent Niland, Jasper Brown, and Justin Lipscomb trailed in the 7th through 10th spots, respectively.

At the 2 mile mark, Matthew Scheneberg continued to lead, but the gap had narrowed a bit with Scheneberg coming through in 10:41. Brayden Marshall remained in 2nd at 10:47. Jacob Dowdy continued to hold the 3rd spot at 10:52. Charlie Smoak had firmed his grasp on the 4th spot at 10:59. Garrett Ferguson remained in 5th at 11:03 with Landon Brumfield right behind in 6th at 11:04. Konnor Allison held a slight edge over Steven Kent Niland for 7th with both at 11:12. Peyton Slider had moved up significantly and was now in 9th at 11:18 with Jasper Brown matching that time in 10th. These 10 had opened a gap on the trailing field. Justin Lipscomb was in 11th in 11:23. Drew Moore was in 12th in 11:25 with Mason Konchar matching that time in 13th. Tyler Weiford was in 14th at 11:29 with Lucas Anger in 15th in 11:31. Luke Duncan had moved up to 16th in 11:35. Jaedan Holstein was running 17th in 11:36. East Fairmont's Nathaniel Stuck had climbed into the top 20 in 18th in 11:43. Trenton Denne in 19th at 11:45, and Oak Glen's Nick Gallo also joining the top 20 at 11:46.

During the last mile, a real race developed for the win. The gap closed up as they approached the starting field with Bryden Marshall moving up close to Matthew Scheneberg. As they rounded the baseball field, Marshall pulled even and Jacob Dowdy moved to within striking distance. As they headed onto the track, it was a 3 man race with the trio hitting the track basically all within a second or two. Marshall was able to make the move to the lead, and Dowdy followed. They were able to generate a gap on Scheneberg. Marshall established his lead and maintained it throughout the final 200 meters, holding it for the 1.3 second win in 16:24. Dowdy held the 2nd spot at 16:25. Scheneberg settled for 3rd in 16:33. Charlie Smoak maintained the 4th spot, finishing in 16:44. Steven Kent Niland closed well to move up to the 5th spot in 16:49. Garrett Ferguson held the 6th spot in 16:53, just ahead of Konnor Allison in 7th in 16:54 and Landon Brumfield in 8th in 16:55. Jasper Brown moved back into 9th in 17:13 with Peyton Slider finishing the podium spots in 10th in 17:15. Drew Moore was 11th in 17:18. Mason Konchar finished his strong run in 12th at 17:28. Justin Lipscomb was 13th in 17:33 and was followed by teammate Tyler Weiford 14th in 17:35. Lucas Anger held 15th in 17:39 winning a close battle with Frankfort's Landyn Sell in 16th and Nathaniel Stuck in 17th with both at 17:40. Trenton Denne was 18th in 17:46. Jaedan Holstein took the 19th spot in 17:48. Luke Duncan held on for 20th in his first race since mid-September finishing in 17:50.

There wasn't a lot of movement in the standings with 3rd and 4th swapping places and the predicted 7th place team moving up to 5th. Obviously with the close team battle, I have to look at Winfield's lineup, and it just so happens that I found something. They had one guy who finished 6 places above his predicted finish. However, that resulted in in a 4 point team improvement. If he finished in his predicted spot, it's a 4 point drop, which makes the meet a tie...and Frankfort wins it on the tie-breaker. So, while that wasn't a huge move up the charts, it was precisely what Winfield needed to secure the Championship. For that Championship securigg performance,the 2021 RunWV MVP is Winfield's Jordon Reesman.

So, how did RunWV do on the predictions? This was actually a pretty strong set of picks. I got the top 2 teams right and only Elkins finished more than one spot away from their predicted finish, moving up 2 spots into 5th. Individually, I didn't get the winner correct, but I did get 9 of the top 10, 12 of the top 15, and a very nice 23 of the top 25. On average, runners finished within 4.35 places of their predicted finish. The runner who stepped up onto the podium was Fairmont Senior's Jasper Brown (picked 16th, got 9th). Those who climbed into the top 25 were Frankfort's Luke Duncan (not in picks, got 20th) and Winfield's Jordon Reesman (picked 28th, got 22nd). The big mover on the day was Lewis County's Maddox Prince, who moved up 13 spots from a predicted 54th place finish to an actual 41st place finish. The team that improved their score the most was also Lewis County, who scored 20 points fewer than predicted.

I offer my congratulations to the Winfield boys. You were expected to win, but Frankfort made it tough. You had to perform and you did. You ran strong and aggressively from the gun and did what you had to do to take the title.

I offer my congratulations to Brayden Marshall. You ran a disciplined race and were strongest when it mattered most. The brilliant last half mile put you at the top of the podium. It was a well deserved ending to an excellent season.

I offer my congratulations to the boys who shook up the predictions. You prove what I try to tell people every year. Rankings and predictions don't mean a thing. That's why we run the race.